Hello cowboys & vampires!

Extras

In the third installment of their horror series, Hays and McFall (The Cowboy and the Vampire: Blood and Whiskey, 2014, etc.) return to LonePine, Wyoming, as human Tucker and vampire Lizzie discover that they have a whole new type of bloodsucker to worry about. The world of vampires is dying out, as they’re unable to…

Here’s something we wrote for the Ramblings From This Chick blog. It’s a funny look at a not so funny topic — the time Clark almost blew his leg off with a .44 mag. In Blood and Whiskey, the second book in The Cowboy and Vampire Collection, there’s plenty of action. Since cowboys are involved,…

The vampires have “new orientation materials” in our fourth book, The Last Sunset. We finally got our hands on the PowerPoint presentation prepared by their UR department (Undead Resources) — So You’re a Vampire now. Hilarious and terrifying.

The Books

The return of Bonnie and Clyde

Here’s what our hometown newspaper The Oregonian had to say about the book:

“Centered on an intriguing question: What if Bonnie and Clyde weren’t gunned down in 1934, but were instead kidnapped by a secret organization that wanted to ensure the New Deal overcame bitter opposition from the 1 percent? Bonnie and Clyde: Resurrection Road is a taut, fast-paced, fun read that cuts agilely back and forth between the anti-heroes’ Depression-era escapades and a modern-day reporter trying to revive his career with a big scoop, all while addressing serious topics such as income inequality.”

And the Midwest Book Review got straight to the point: A fantastic story. Exceptional! We hope you’ll check it out. You can learn more at our new website PUMPJACK PRESS where we are posting information about this new book along with The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection.

All four books now available in limited-edition box set! Plus bonus read…

Just released! Hot off the presses!

Escapism into love, fantasy and thrills has never been easier!

Book Review: A Square Meal

A Square Mealby Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe looks at an especially interesting moment in American culinary history — the Great Depression. At a time when capitalism failed the country so spectacularly — when unemployment was high, poverty deep and hope on the run, we still had to eat. And it was not easy for many. Businesses were closing or contracting so laborers were out of jobs and agricultural prices were low so farmers were broke, and there was no relief in sight for either group. Everyone was forced to do more with less, especially those — and there were many — close or already below the poverty line, who had to stretch a handful of ingredients in depleted pantries to feed entire families.

The authors shine a light on that struggle to survive and procure food balanced against efforts to make nutritious satisfying and, occasionally, delicious meals. Along the way, they look at the regional specialties, national culinary trends, scientific thinking, state, federal and local relief efforts and some pretty interesting recipes (like creamed lima beans, deviled eggs in tomato sauce, stuffed onions, Milkorno [an unholy nutritional supplement of dehydrated corn and dried milk] chop suey or prune pudding). Read the rest of this entry »

The Cowboy and the Vampire: What every bunker library needs

Joining us today from the pages of The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection is Lenny, a survivalist and improvised weapons expert with some peculiar political views. He’s the long-time friend of Tucker and has, by necessity, become an expert in making weapons capable of dispatching the undead.

Hello Lenny, welcome. What did you bring with you today? This? It’s a reverse surveillance tracker I made out of an old cassette recorder, a GPS unit and an electric toothbrush. I want to be able to monitor whoever it is monitoring this conversation to find out where they are broadcasting from.

Lenny, is fair to say you are a conspiracy theorist? Not really, no. “Theorist” implies that it’s hypothetical. There’s nothing in doubt here. I prefer to think of myself as a conspiracy realist.

Can you describe a few of the plots you think are real? You’d like that, wouldn’t you?

Pardon me? I mean, you’re part of the mainstream media. You’re in on it. You have your role to play, keeping us distracted and uninformed, and you’re doing a great job by the way, but I know you’re in on it. You’re all in on it.

What is “it,” exactly? Only the single largest transfer of wealth since the 19th century rise of the robber barons.

And the wealth is being transferred to … ? You are really going to make me say it, aren’t you? Off planet.

Book Review: Legends of Arthur

Why do we still find so meaningful and moving these tall tales of knights and ladies, of kings and magicians from the almost-forgotten mists of time?

This is a solid collection of multiple historical manuscripts offering a look at the Arthurian legends — his rise and fall and the epic adventures, and doomed romances, of his Knights. The stories include the origins of Arthur, his success as a military strategist and his ultimate downfall at the hands of Mordred (and wounded return to mythical Avalon); the romance (and betrayal) of Lancelot and Guinevere; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, along with another elaborate Gawain adventure featuring a flying chessboard, a talking fox and a sword that kills those who lack perfect virtue; and, the doomed romance of Tristan and Iseult.

So many of the elements from these stories have lodged — like a poisoned shard from a shattered sword — in our collective psyches that reading them feels like a constant rediscovery of precious things once thought lost forever: the sword in the stone, mysterious Merlin, the sorrowful Lady of the Lake. So why do we still find so meaningful and moving these tall tales of knights and ladies, of kings and magicians from the almost-forgotten mists of time? Read the rest of this entry »